| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Koran: settled and decided by thy Lord.
Then we will save those who fear us; but we will leave the evildoers
therein on their knees.
And when our signs are recited to them manifest, those who
misbelieve say to those who believe, 'Which of the two parties is best
placed and in the best company?'
And how many generations before them have we destroyed who were
better off in property and appearance?
Say, 'Whosoever is in error, let the Merciful extend to him length
of days!-until they see what they are threatened with, whether it be
the torment or whether it be the Hour, then they shall know who is
The Koran |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Atheist's Mass by Honore de Balzac: One day, as he crossed the Place Saint-Sulpice, Bianchon caught
sight of his master going into the church at about nine in the
morning. Desplein, who at that time never went a step without his
cab, was on foot, and slipped in by the door in the Rue du Petit-
Lion, as if he were stealing into some house of ill fame. The
house surgeon, naturally possessed by curiosity, knowing his
master's opinions, and being himself a rabid follower of Cabanis
(Cabaniste en dyable, with the y, which in Rabelais seems to
convey an intensity of devilry)--Bianchon stole into the church,
and was not a little astonished to see the great Desplein, the
atheist, who had no mercy on the angels--who give no work to the
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from The Iron Puddler by James J. Davis: denouncing religion. I saw by his hands that he didn't work much,
and from the hands of his wife I learned who raised the
watermelons he was feeding to me. I remember wondering why he
didn't pay his grocery bill with the money he spent on pamphlets
to stuff in the pockets of passers-by.
CHAPTER XXI
ENVY IS THE SULPHUR IN HUMAN PIG-IRON
While I was feasting on the watermelons and feeling at peace
with all the world, a long passenger train pulled into the
junction. The train was made up of Pullmans and each car was
covered with flags, streamers and lodge insignia. On the heels of
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Amy Foster by Joseph Conrad: looked venerable; and they had red cloth collars
round their necks and gold lace on their sleeves
like Government officials. They sat proudly behind
a long table; and in the next room, so that the com-
mon people shouldn't hear, they kept a cunning
telegraph machine, through which they could talk
to the Emperor of America. The fathers hung
about the door, but the young men of the mountains
would crowd up to the table asking many questions,
for there was work to be got all the year round at
three dollars a day in America, and no military
Amy Foster |
